Improving FICO score

Submitted by pab4103 on Mon, 09/06/2010 - 15:55
Forums

Looking to re-finance. fico is 600. mortgage lender told me to get credit card charge and move fico up to 620 or to remove one deragatory item i have on my report to have it go to 620. which is faster? credit card or trying to dispute and delete my deragatory item?

I can't guarantee that getting a new card will increase your score. I would work on both at the same time.

Go to https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp and get hard copies of all your reports. it is important to get hard copies of all your reports so you have an accurate picture. You have the right to get at least one free copy of all three reports each year.

Mon, 09/06/2010 - 22:43 Permalink

Hi pab,

I agree with cinnamngrl. Doing both, removing derogatory and getting a new card will help you increase your FICO score. If you get a new credit card you need to use it for some time atleast, to build up a credit history.

As for the removal of the derogatory and the improve in your score will depend on what kind of derogatory is it. Sometimes removal of a derogatory from your credit report increases your credit score by 40-50 points. Again sometimes removal of a derogatory can increase your score by 20 points. So, it depends.

Thanks,

Aaron

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 06:52 Permalink